TARANG SPEECH AND HEARING CLINICS

Cochlear Implant

The cochlear implant is a surgically placed device that converts sound to an electrical signal. This electrical signal is transmitted via electrodes to the spiral ganglion cells in the cochlear modiolus..

Hearing loss is one of the most common sensory impairments and affects 28 million Americans. Approximately 1-3 out of 1000 newborns has hearing impairment. The elderly are more commonly affected with 40-50% of people over age 75 having hearing loss. Depending on the degree of hearing loss, many affected individuals can be successfully fitted with hearing aids. For patients with hearing loss that is not mitigated with hearing aids, a cochlear implant may provide an opportunity for hearing.

A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing. The implant consists of an external portion that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin (see figure). An implant has the following parts:

1. A microphone, which picks up sound from the environment.

2. A speech processor, which selects and arranges sounds picked up by the microphone.

3. A transmitter and receiver/stimulator, which receive signals from the speech processor and convert them into electric impulses.

4. An electrode array, which is a group of electrodes that collects the impulses from the stimulator and sends them to different regions of the auditory nerve.